* Reader objections to Web sites that use Flash
We’ve had a few responses to last week’s newsletter, “Flash – good, bad, or just another tool?” on the desirability of using Macromedia’s Flash system in Web sites.
Reader Peter Bell raised a number of points that I will tackle in order:
“1. Go into a Flash-based Web site with deep content and then send me a link to a specific page.”
Absolutely true, Flash just doesn’t inherently work that way. Flash designers need to understand that they need to support multiple entry points into their content so that users can send links. In fact, the same complaint can be made of frame-based sites where the only way to link to content is to give the frame’s URL which will ignore the pages that framed it.
On the other hand, it may be a conscious choice on the Flash designer’s part that users should always enter the Flash content at the start. It’s really a strategic design decision for the content owner but I will agree that designers need to consider making multiple entry points available.
“2. Look through the default IIS/Apache logs for a Flash Web site and tell me something useful about the clickpaths within the Flash file.”
Again, this is a design issue – Peter notes “I have a solution for problem No. 2 (a script that creates pseudo logs for Flash files)” which indeed does solve the problem but heaven forfend that the programmer should do more work! In fact, that sounds like an opportunity for some clever company to create a Flash module that provides automatic clickpath logs.
“3. Fill out a Flash form and get your browser to remember your entries.”
Again, a design issue. Not hard to do and it just happens to be (again) the designer’s responsibility.
“4. Log on to a secure Flash site and get your browser to remember your password.”
Much trickier, and if you want to use something like RoboForm, impossible. But yet again, a problem that can be solved but this time not only by the design of the Flash presentation but also through the design of the site.
“5. Go back one page within a flash application using your browsers back button.”
Definitely not possible (at least at present). Obviously the design of the Flash presentation should be such that users know when they should be using the browser’s “Back” button and when they should focus on the controls in the Flash app but it is guaranteed that some users still won’t get it.
Peter concluded with, “Flash apps have great potential … but the other four points [excluding No. 2] are still real problems.”
Reader Adric McDowell weighed in with: “The first concern that I have with any ‘Web technology’: Can it be indexed by Google et al? I have been toying with the idea of upgrading to Macromedia’s Studio 8, but I have not been able to find a definitive answer. Building a Web site with Flash could be detrimental to your Web site’s health if Google can’t see it. It might look nice but that might be all …”
As far as I know, no, Flash content is available for Google to index but this seems to me to be avoiding the obvious: If you want your content indexed you should use the simplest means possible and embed the indexable text and images in HTML so that Google can “see” them.
From these and other letters I have received it appears that most objections to Flash are because it isn’t HTML. To get the best out of any media you have to consciously design for the opportunities and limitations of that media. You want a slick Rich Internet Application (RIA)? Then you’ll have to consider whether Ajax and CSS can get you there (if not, there’s no choice to make) or whether even with the cost of designing around Flash’s limitations Flash is still cheaper to use and maintain.
